The leaflets dropped Monday night, which encouraged Afghans to cooperate with security forces, included an image of a dog carrying the Taliban flag, said Shah Wali Shahid, the deputy governor of Parwan province.

The problem, such that it is, is the Islamic verses of the Quran are venerated in Islam — and there are Islamic verses on the Taliban flag. Dogs are viewed as filthy.

So, despite the evil the Taliban represents, seeing a Taliban flag in the mouth of a dog is worse.

A US Air Force article highlights the religious ministry support team at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where chaplains rotate to geographically separated units to provide continuous religious support:

Thousands of feet above Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, two Airmen, riding in a helicopter, wearing more than 75 pounds of gear, hover around the city before landing. These Airmen are not pararescuemen or tactical air control party—they’re a chaplain and chaplain assistant.

The Stars and Stripes has an interesting write up on Saint Christopher’s Chapel, an open-air church built by the US Army during World War II:

The nondenominational Saint Christophers Chapel, built in 1943 by the Army’s 542nd Engineer Battalion, is the only structure remaining from when Rockhampton served as a springboard and training location for Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s World War II island-hopping campaign. The city hosted the 1st Cavalry Division and the 24th, 32nd and 41st infantry divisions on a half-dozen camps between 1942-44.

So Chaplain (Capt) Lukasz J. Willenberg, also known as Father Luke, set out to reach his troops regardless — and it worked:

He started Holy Smokes – a lounge time after Sunday night mass…[at] Bagram Airfield…A division band played jazz in the background as Willenberg led casual conversations about anything the soldiers could entertain.

“We’d have over 100 people,” Willenberg said. “Here we are, in a deployed setting. We can build a camaraderie session. We’re building each other up so we can keep going with the mission.”

While Holy Smokes provided something for the troops, it also gave Chaplain Read more

A unit of F-16 fighter pilots at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan was recently quoted as saying they’re basically doing the same thing they were last year — combat.

Pilots from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron are still flying round-the-clock patrols, and they are still dropping bombs on the enemy. The airstrikes, which reached a 10-month high in October — are seen as vital to stopping insurgents from overrunning vulnerable areas around Read more

The Air Force recently announced that Chaplain (Capt) Keith Manry was selected as the Air Force Chaplain Corps Company Grade Officer (CGO) Chaplain of the Year for 2014. Manry is a chaplain for the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, and he was also recognized for his work as a hospital chaplain at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan: Read more

For most military couples a deployment usually involves a significant amount of time apart. A fortunate Army Reserve same-sex couple from Plantation, Fla., has taken advantage of the opportunity to serve together in Bagram, Afghanistan. Read more